Still The Merchant Of Death
by Ashblood
Summary: They used to call him The Merchant of Death, and in a way he still is. But he's also a hero. Short introspection from Tony's POV.


**Still The Merchant of Death**

They still sometimes refer to me as the Da Vinci of the modern age – and so they should – when they remember every invention I created, every innovation I pushed forward. You know, when they're not busy worshipping me as the hero of the entire universe they sometimes remember that I'm the guy who created the arc reactor, in a cave with just a pile of scrap metal. I'm the guy who created a new element over night. Oh, and I made time travel possible. Again, over night.

So, yeah, they can go ahead and call me Da Vinci. Or better yet, call Da Vinci the Stark of his time. We're probably related.

They should also go back to calling me the Merchant of Death because that's who I am. Was. I mean, I'm also Iron Man, but I'm also the Iron Man who wiped out Thanos and all his armies and followers. I brought death to them. I destroyed them all.

If I sound defensive, I just want credit to be given where it's due. Without Natasha we would never have retrieved the Soul Stone. Without Banner, Cap would still be running those counselling sessions.

Those guys, my friends, saved lives, preserved lives. Heroes. Natasha made the ultimate sacrifice and Banner almost died bringing everyone back. I just want to make sure that people remember that. They're the true heroes, I'm just the guy that killed Thanos. Well, one of the guys. Thor beheaded him in another time...time travel, it gets confusing.

Anyway, what they did wasn't enough to stop Thanos. Peaceful methods weren't enough. And that's where I took over.

It wasn't my first time taking out an entire army on my own. Remember New York? I thought I was going to die back then, but I guess it just wasn't my time. Thor would call it Fate. I think he might be right. After all crazy stuff I've seen, why not Fate?

And it felt right to hold those Stones, to feel their immense power coursing through my veins like fire. I could do anything, be anything. Could turned them all into stone, turned them back into children, anything. Except, not really because I knew that there was only one option for me. I knew what I had to do. The Stones willed it.

I had to be The Merchant of Death again. That's the role I was born to play. Only that time I knew absolutely that it was the right thing to do. No need to make excuses or rationalise. There was no other way; it had to be done. So I snapped my fingers and turned them all to dust. Throughout the whole universe, any follower or supporter of Thanos, gone. Never to come back again. Job done. I could finally stop.

So, what have I learned? What life lessons should I pass onto you if I ever get the opportunity?

Well, I suppose that in the end, Dad was probably right. He used to say that peace was brought about by having a bigger stick than the other guy. Or more Infinity Stones, in my case. And having a time machine and all the money needed to build it helped too.

You see, there will always be guys with sticks wanting to try their luck. Frost Giants, Chitauri, Titans. There will be others, but simply owning a bigger stick won't be enough, even if you're smart enough to have modified that stick and equipped it with lasers. And I know you are.

Smarts and weapons wasn't enough for me and it won't be enough for you.

You're gonna need people to balance you out. People who have qualities that you don't. Yeah, you're perfect in my eyes, but I also know that you're probably going to inherit some of my arrogance because I have a lot of it to pass on. So you are going to need people who can stick to their principles, people who are brave, people who are kind, people who make you want to be a better person.

Heh, I sound so corny. But all I really want for you is to have a boring life with lots of friends around you. Friends you can rely on. Friends who can make you strong. Maybe when you're older you can have a team, because you know that what I've been getting at, right?

Just remember that it is not the tech, armour, magic, whatever, that makes you special. All that other stuff is just superficial, doesn't really mean anything. The important stuff, no one can take that away from you.

You are Morgan Stark and I'm the father of Morgan Stark. Trust me, it beats being Iron Man, the Merchant of Death, by about 3000.

* * *

AN: Thanks for reading! This is my first Tony fic, so I hope it's okay.

I also want to thank my sis for gifting me a Thor fic called The Ledger. It's a funny, fluffy one shot where the Avengers discover that Thor has planned out a wedding for everyone he knows, including Steve and Tony...I know it's shameless promotion, but my sis is very sweet about telling people about my fics, so I hope she knows I appreciate it! Thank you!


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